Loyalty flexed his formerly shackled hands, a hint of brutality flaring in his eyes.
Having just narrowly escaped death, he felt a momentary surge of relief, followed immediately by a wave of intense fury.
Since becoming a Defender of the Faith, no one had ever driven him to such anger.
“DOGMA LIBERATION — MONUMENT OF LOYALTY!”
Loyalty roared, circulating every ounce of power in his body to unleash his strongest blow.
“Loyalty! Don’t be impulsive!”
Qiancheng sensed the violent surge of power and rushed forward to warn him.
For some reason, Loyalty found himself unable to suppress the sudden explosion of rage, no matter how hard he tried.
He could only let it erupt.
“Leave me alone! I’m going to kill this guy today!”
Ignoring his companion’s attempt to stop him, Loyalty’s heart was consumed by his hatred for the White-robed Mage.
He was determined to make the man die today!
As waves of surging energy gathered, veins bulged across Loyalty’s body, and the golden patterns on his skin glowed with increasing brilliance.
Noticing the change, Francis also retreated quickly, standing a short distance behind Loyalty.
“Zhencheng! Is this your solemn guarantee to us?”
Loyalty glanced back at Francis, a sneer appearing on his lips.
“I’ll deal with you later.”
Francis ignored the remark, his eyes fixed on the frantic Mana swirling around Loyalty.
He spoke flatly, “You have already violated the Seven Sins of the Holy See. The Sin of Wrath.”
“Ha, so I’ve violated the Seven Sins? What about you? Are any of you any better?!”
Loyalty’s eyes gradually turned blood-red as rage burned away the last of his sanity.
“I am simply the first to take this step.”
“Let us notify the Holy See. Having violated the Seven Sins, he can now be judged.”
Francis shook his head.
It seemed they wouldn’t find the Saintess immediately, but even though the camp had been destroyed, the guidance of the Holy Stone remained.
The Saintess was likely out of harm’s way.
Francis turned to leave, but just as he was about to depart, he glanced at the White-robed Mage out of the corner of his eye.
Though the man still appeared calm, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his body trembled slightly under the weight of Loyalty’s powerful aura.
The military formation had shattered, meaning the White-robed Mage could no longer channel Mana to cast collective magic.
If the Defenders left now, everyone here would surely be slaughtered by Loyalty.
“Tsk, let us carry out the judgment on behalf of the Holy See,” Francis said to his companions.
The other two Defenders of the Faith were watching Loyalty release his power, their expressions solemn.
Since the death of the last Saintess, the position had remained vacant for a long time.
Initially, the Holy Emperor hadn’t given it much thought.
But unexpectedly, after that event, the strongest members of the Holy See had begun to lose control one after another, descending into madness.
This phenomenon was defined by the Holy See as the Seven Sins.
Because of these sins, the Holy See’s strength was significantly diminished compared to the past.
The fall into sin was often sudden.
No member of the Holy See knew when a companion beside them might fall.
However, there was a pattern: the stronger the individual, the higher the probability of falling.
Because of this, the Holy Emperor’s attitude had changed from indifference toward the Saintess’s existence to a frantic search for her.
This was why the Holy See needed the Saintess.
If she returned, the Seven Sins might disappear, allowing the Holy See to regain its high-level combat power.
While it was unclear if the Saintess was truly linked to the Seven Sins, her necessity was indisputable.
As the others finished speaking, Loyalty’s Dogma Liberation reached completion.
A massive golden stone monument made of magic manifested in mid-air, intending to crush the White-robed Mage and the remains of the army beneath it.
—
Skinny Monkey ran through the dense forest, pulling Mida along.
He glanced back over his shoulder every few steps.
Mida followed him in a daze, clutching Anthony’s birdcage.
Perhaps because her grip was weak, the cage slipped and hit the ground.
Startled, Anthony flapped around inside the cage, screaming.
“Squawk! Squawk!”
Mida’s dull eyes flickered at the sound.
She suddenly broke free from Skinny Monkey’s hand and turned back to retrieve the cage.
Skinny Monkey felt his hand go light and realized Mida, who had been following obediently, had run back.
Mida was only 17 years old.
The recent upheaval had been a devastating blow to her innocence.
She had only been in the camp for a few days, but it felt like years.
She had once believed she would never leave that place alive.
Mida had tried to escape before, but she was caught and locked in a room every time.
Although the bandits didn’t starve her and provided good food and drink, everything tasted like ash to her.
She felt as if she had experienced this before…
When was it?
Mida couldn’t remember, but she felt as if she had fallen into an ice hole — cold, helpless, and miserable.
‘No one cares about me, no one looks after me, and no one would even notice if I died here…’
After being confined for days, Mida, who already carried psychological scars, had completely withdrawn into her own world.
She blocked out everything around her, entering a state of self-preservation.
But now, hearing Anthony’s cries, a light suddenly flashed in her eyes.
Right, her goal.
She had to find him!
The Mida who had fallen into the ice hole pulled herself together.
She struggled to break free from her past memories, rescuing herself from the endless pessimism.
She had to survive and escape.
She wanted to see him!
Just as Mida reached for the cage, Skinny Monkey grabbed her thin wrist.
“Don’t look back!”
Surprisingly, Skinny Monkey had dropped his previous hostile attitude.
His voice was agitated, yet it contained a hint of sincerity.
Mida naturally wouldn’t listen.
She struggled desperately against his grip and snatched the birdcage.
At that moment, a blinding light erupted from the direction of the camp.
Seconds later, a searing heatwave rolled toward them.
Before Mida could react, the heat was upon her.
The scorching air brushed against Mida’s cheeks, leaving bloody burn marks.
This was merely a precursor to the true wave.
“It hurts…”
Mida cried out instinctively from the sharp pain.
Skinny Monkey also felt the heatwave.
He gave Mida a grave look before pulling a Detection Scroll from his pocket.
He activated it and threw it at Mida’s feet.
In an instant, a faint golden shield appeared around Mida, protecting her and the birdcage in her arms.
Seeing the shield manifest, a smile appeared on Skinny Monkey’s face.
He glanced back toward the camp once more before calmly closing his eyes.
He had only brought this one scroll, and it could only protect one person at a time.
‘Sir, my mission… it should be complete now.’
As the heatwave swept over them, the trees turned to dust before they even had a chance to burn.
Skinny Monkey’s body vanished in the heat, becoming nothing more than black ash that scattered in the wind.
The entire forest was gone.
Mida stared at the scene in a daze, unable to believe her eyes.
“What… what happened?”
Looking at the ground covered in ash, the lush forest had vanished, replaced by scorched earth.
The bandits were gone.
In this desolate wasteland, she was now completely alone.
‘This must be magic. Is there really magic this terrifying in this world?’
Before Mida could process it, another massive surge of energy erupted from the camp.
She felt the ground beneath her feet begin to tremble.
‘No way… There’s more?!’
Feeling the earth shake, Mida panicked.
She understood that magic scrolls were one-time items, and the one from before was now useless.
If another wave came, her small body wouldn’t survive it.
Without thinking, Mida grabbed the cage and turned to run with Anthony.
After running for an unknown distance, Mida noticed the environment was no longer scorched earth.
Instead, she was surrounded by the lush greenery of a forest.
The tremors had stopped, birds sang in the branches, and a few butterflies fluttered through the trees.
It was a scene of peace and tranquility.
‘This must be a place that wasn’t reached by that magic.’
Mida observed the surroundings.
Once she confirmed it was relatively safe, she slumped onto the grass.
“I’m so tired…”
Gasping for breath, she pulled the cage close and looked at Anthony.
The girl and the bird stared at each other, neither knowing what to do next.
“How do I open this cage…”
Mida wondered, trying to figure out how to free Anthony.
‘Maybe I should try to smash it?’
With that thought, she immediately began searching for something useful.
She quickly found a rock on the grass and weighed it against the cage.
Anthony watched her movements, retreating to the back of the cage and staring at her with nervous little eyes.
*Bang!*
Mida struck the cage hard.
Anthony shrieked in fright as the rock shattered, sending up a cloud of dust.
“Cough, cough…”
Mida threw the rock aside, her eyes watering from the dust as she wiped them.
Once her vision cleared, she looked at the birdcage again.
It was completely unharmed, without even a single wire bent.
“Why is this so difficult?!”
Mida pouted, her voice tinged with frustration.
Just as she was muttering to Anthony, a lavishly decorated carriage slowly drove into the forest.